Melo is speeding towards celebrity fame, but is his game NBA quality?
The legend of The Ball Brothers and their growing empire continues to evolve into one of the great African-American comeups in history. LaMelo Ball, who just turned 16 last week and is the youngest of the three Ball Brothers, is now debuting a sneaker of his own. He is the first high school basketball prospect ever to have a signature shoe at this stage.
Big Baller Brand on Twitter
Today, LaMelo Ball becomes the 1st high school player ever to have his own signature shoe. The “Melo Ball 1
Hes following in the footsteps of his NBA brother Lonzo, now the future of the Lakers, who became the first player to have his own independently made signature shoe (ZO2) entering the NBA Draft. As soon as his name came off the board at No.2, the Big Baller Brand started pre-selling the $495 on-court shoe Lonzo will wear with the new and improved Lake Show.
SLAM Magazine on Twitter
EXCLUSIVE: Lonzo Ball’s signature sneaker has arrived. Independently made by Big Baller Brand. Meet the ZO2: https://t.co/sst8h7jfal https://t.co/CGhtGbgKPq
According to Slamonline.com, the low-cut MB1 features a two-tone woven textile with a camouflaged one-piece knit upper. BBB is touting it as one of the lightest basketball sneakers on the market. The red heel, black upper and shoe tongue are all made up of suede material. The tongue is a distinctively thin layer, which came at the request of Melo to provide him with less weight and more freedom around his ankles. The MB1 comes in priced at $395 and is slated to reach homes during the holiday season.
The Shadow League on Twitter
LaMelo Ball now has his own sneaker. https://t.co/hoNdh69dQr
So you want me to pay $400 for the sneakers of a kid who has never played past high school? Maaaan. I love the audacity of LaVar Ball. Its genius even. That man went for the gusto and played these corporate suckers like “eenie meenie miney moe” before tag back in the day.
But anybody buying a LaMelo Ball shoe at this point is just a jock rider. I cant respect bandwagon Willies. The kid is a nice little high school basketball player, but he hasn’t done anything to warrant anyone buying his shoe other than ride a wave.
Buy Lonzos shoe if you are that into the Big Baller Brand. And if you respect LaVars hustle and Lonzos pill-pushing, that’s got nothing to do with buying a LaMelo Ball sneaker.
In any event, it’s hard not to root for them. Especially with the immediate hate Melo received when BBB announced the shoe and the questions that followed about eligibility.
Kevin Sweeney on Twitter
Trying to figure out how LaMelo Ball can be eligible to play in college while having his own signature shoe like: https://t.co/NrbB7R39Qq
All of that aside, with this explosion of instant success off the court, I just dont see how good any of these guys are going to end up being at the pro level. Unless they naturally have the competitiveness and motivation of a Michael Jordan in 90, where is the incentive and what are they working towards?
With all due respect to LaVars business sense, when you have it all already then what do you have to hustle for? LaMelo has his own signature shoe and hes driving a Lambo that he got as a gift for his 16th birthday.
He’s also got a 92-point scoring game to his credit. And nobody in his family — other than LaVar — really even had to break a sweat yet. Its surely not a blueprint to riches, but everything fell right for The Balls. The time was right. The hype was right. The social media moshpit and excess of video and sports broadcasting keeps exploding.
NBA Central on Twitter
Big Baller Brand has released LaMelo ball’s first shoe, the MB1. Will cost $395.
Slamonline says, “With 2.4 million followers on Instagram alone, Melo already has a much larger following on social media platforms than the majority of NBA players. Although people in the prep scene knew of Melo since his freshman year, it was last season when his notoriety reached new levels. At times he would have to be escorted out of side doors after games due to large crowds lingering in hopes of getting a picture or autograph.”
Putting the cart before the horse is definitely a game plan now and The Ball Family are the masters. They kind of became overnight rich, celebrity personalities and larger-than-life characters. They are definitely superheroes in the suburbs and the hood. The jury is still out on how great they will be as professional athletes, but they are already worth as much as any No. 1 draft pick.
